Vehicle-top



(N 0 Model.)

B. L. S'HUTE.

VEHIGLE TOP.

' No. 250,847. Patented Dec 13,1881.-

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT L. SHUTE, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

VEHICLEJ-TOP.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N0.-250,847, dated December 13, 1881.

Application filed December 6, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT L. SHU'rE, of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton, and in the State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Tops; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

This inv'entionrelates to certain improvements in the construction of folding tops for vehicles; and it has for its objects to provide a false or supplemental front bow for such vehicle-tops that can be oscillated or vibrated so as to be thrown back out of the way to enable a person to conveniently and expeditiously enter the vehicle, and which will obviate the unsightly appearance which would result from the omission of a front bow. These objects I attain by the mechanism and apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a side elevation of a buggy, showing my improvement, and Figs. 2 and 3 detached detailed views of my improvement.

The letter A indicates the body of the vehicle, which may be of the ordinary or any approved construction, and B the ordinary bows, pivoted to said body at O in the usual manner.

The letter D indicates the front bow, which is pivoted to the common bearing of the other bows. vided with a longitudinal slot or recess, E, in which is located a bar, F, provided with a handknob, G, by which it may be reciprocated vertically. The upper end of said bar is encircled by a spiral spring, H, which bears against an abutment, I, in the slot or recess at its lower end, and against a collar or shoulder, K, on the bar, at or near the upper end of said bar, which spring serves to hold and return said bar to a normal position, the upper extremity of the bar forming a bolt, F, which is adapted to engage a rubber-lined socket, L, in the upper part of said false or supplementary bow, the said how being divided at M, as indicated in the drawings, so that the lower parts may be thrown back independently of the upper part, as more fully hereinafter described.

The letterNindicates a binding-screw, which passes through the walls of the socket, by

The said front bow, at each side, is promeans of which the bolt-headed end of the bar may be rigidly secured in the socket, when desired, to hold the front false or auxiliary bow in place when it is not required to frequently throw such bow back-as, for instance, when the vehicle is required for a long or continuous journey.

The letter 0 indicates a connection extending from one of the rear bows, where it is pivoted, at P, to the forward false or supplementary how, the said connection being formed of two parallel bars having corrugated bearings, of rubber or other elastic material, at their rear ends, adapted to grasp and hold the bolt F and bar F temporarily when thrown back.

The operation of my invention will be readily understood from the above description, and is as follows: The parts being in a normal position, as indicated in Fig. 1, to throw the false or front bow back it is simply necessary to withdraw the bolt from its socket by bearing upon the knob and press said how backward until the bolt at the end of the bar is caught and engaged by the corrugated bearing between the two parts of the connections before mentioned.

The joints at the detachable parts of the bow may be beveled to limit their movement in an outward direction.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A vehicle-top provided with afront bow, the side pieces of which are detachably connected to the upper part, and adapted to oscillate or vibrate independently of said upper part, when detached, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the detachable side pieces of the front bow, of the sliding bars provided with bolts at their upper ends adapted to engage sockets in the upper part of the bow, and the connection provided with corrugated elastic bearings to hold the bolts when the side pieces of the bow are thrown back, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 1st day of December, 1880.

ROBERT L. SHUTE. 'Witnesses:

H. AUBREY TOULMIN, J. J. MCCARTHY. 

